and great shouting, were endeavouring to circle round the British. 'For the first half-mile from the river the path rose tolerably even,' says one report; 'then after a rapid descent it passed along a narrow ridge with a ravine on each side; dipped again deeply, and then finally rose into the village. To the south-west of the village, extending almost to the village itself, and for a considerable distance along the road, the enemy had made a clearing of several acres, by cutting down a plantain-grove. Colonel M'Leod steadily advanced along the main road under cover of a gun, after a few rounds from which the Rifles made a corresponding advance; then the gun was brought up again, and another advance made; and in this manner the village was at last reached and carried.' The Ashantis fought well, and with a vigour and pertinacity which won the praise and admiration of the Highlanders. The soldiers were put to their mettle, and even the Haussas, as if {45} catching the fierce courage of the Scotsmen, laboured with vigour and energy not eclipsed by any in the field. The dislodgment of the enemy was not effected, however, without considerable loss, Lieutenant Eyre being killed, while Wauchope received a second severe wound, this time on the shoulder. [Sidenote: Kumasi captured] The battle virtually decided the fate of Kumasi and King Koffee. On the news of the defeat of his army the king fled, no one knew whither, and the victorious General Wolseley, with his troops, entered the blood-stained capital in the evening. Attempts were made to negotiate with the king. He preferred to keep in hiding, and after two days' stay in his capital in order, if possible, to compel him to come to terms, it was at length resolved to destroy the place and at once retire to Cape Coast Castle. Kumasi was burned to the ground on the 6th February, and the British troops having accomplished their purpose retraced their steps, and notwithstanding the swollen state of the rivers--for the rainy season had just set in--their destination was reached in twelve days. No time was lost in getting the troops out of the influence of the deadly climate, and accordingly by the 4th March the whole expeditionary force was embarked for home. Wauchope's wounds, thanks to a good constitution, readily healed, and by the time of his arrival at Portsmouth he was fairly convalescent, though every effort made to extract the slug had been unsuccessful. He left his favourite Haussas--his 'black boys'--with every manifestation of regret, at Cape Coast Castle. Nor was the regret only on his side, for we learn from one of his brother officers that 'they looked up to him as a father, and would willingly have followed him through any danger, even to death itself.' {46} [Sidenote: Home again]